Question

Desert storms blanketed parts of Israel.

Answer 1

The claim that desert storms recently blanketed parts of Israel requires careful verification. The original video circulating on TikTok from the account @suryamedia.id shows dramatic sandstorm footage with hashtags indicating Israel as the location. However, this account appears to be an Indonesian media source and is not an official weather or news agency from Israel. The provenance of the video is unclear, raising questions about whether the footage genuinely depicts Israel or if it might be from a different region altogether.

To verify the claim, I investigated reliable sources including Israeli news outlets such as The Times of Israel and Haaretz, as well as the official Israel Meteorological Service. None of these sources reported any recent desert or sandstorm events affecting Israel. Sandstorms are uncommon but not impossible in Israel, usually occurring in the Negev Desert region, but no credible news or weather alerts confirm such an event at this time. Additionally, sandstorm events affecting the broader Middle East are typically covered by international weather services, yet there are no recent reports confirming a storm impacting Israel. The TikTok video may show a sandstorm from another desert region misattributed to Israel, or could be from a past event reused out of context.

In conclusion, while desert storms do occasionally occur in Israel’s desert areas, there is no current credible evidence to support the claim that recent desert storms blanketed parts of Israel. The source posting the video is not verified, and trusted weather and news outlets do not corroborate this event.

Sources:

• The Times of Israel, www.timesofisrael.com

• Haaretz, www.haaretz.com

• Israel Meteorological Service, www.ims.gov.il

• TikTok video from @suryamedia.id: https://www.tiktok.com/@suryamedia.id/video/7499756196178513198?_r=1&_t=ZS-8w9UUrm0Suq

Comments

I really enjoyed reading what you have to say about this specific topic. You did a great job supporting your argument and making a claim about what you believe to be true. To add on something I found is "Israeli outlet N12 News initially posted the video on Instagram, opens new tab and TikTok, opens new tab on April 30, with captions saying it showed soldiers having a hard time closing a door at the Shivta base because of the force of the wind during a sandstorm that evening and that there were no injuries" (Reuters).  Finding this makes me wonder what is true or not about the tiktok video.

https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/video-shows-sandstorm-southern-israel-military-base-not-wildfires-2025-05-14/

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This was very interesting to read, and I've definitely learned a lot from this claim. You did a good job supporting your claim and making sure it was real. There were some parts of the reading that I questioned, and thus did some research on my own. Next time, you can give us some examples that were used or found in different articles to give us the answers we need.

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I agree with this comment. They took a reasonable and well-sourced approach by checking credible outlets like The Times of Israel, Haaretz, and the Israel Meteorological Service, none of which reported a recent desert storm. Given that the TikTok video came from an unofficial, non-local source and lacks clear verification, it is fair to be skeptical. Without confirmation from trusted news or weather authorities, the claim does not appear to be accurate.

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I think mentioning that Israel does occasionally get desert storms is important here, since it is an issue they have to face. However, showing us that the original claim was misleading is extremely helpful context for the original post.

Answer 2

The claim that desert storms blanketed parts of Israel is true. In late April 2025, a powerful sandstorm affected southern regions of Israel, including the Negev Desert and the city of Beersheba. There is verified footage from Israeli military bases, such as Shivta, confirmed the presence of strong winds and heavy dust. However, some viral videos on TikTok were falsely labeled and actually showed sandstorms in Saudi Arabia. Despite the misinformation in some clips, reliable sources confirm that a significant sandstorm did impact Israel during that time.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/video-shows-sandstorm-southern-israel-military-base-not-wildfires-2025-05-14/

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/video-massive-sandstorm-hits-southern-israel-as-winds-intensify-jerusalem-wildfires-8302099

Comments

This claim is very helpful as it proves certain misinformation with reliable sources but also shows how the claim is true and this is a real thing. Although the initial claim in unreliable and the source is false this claim is true and this proves that.

Answer 3

I looked into the claim that desert storms blanketed parts of Israel, and it turns out this is true. I started by looking at where the claim came from and who was posting it. I found that some people were sharing videos online, but not all of them were actually from Israel,  one was even from Saudi Arabia. So I knew I needed to look for more trustworthy sources. I found two reliable news articals, Anadolu Agency and NDTV, that both reported a super big sandstorm hitting southern Israel, especially around the Negev Desert and the city of Beersheba. These sources showed real photos and videos from the scene and talked about how the storm caused really low visibility and made it harder, really hard for people to do normal activities. They also said the strong winds made wildfires worse in some places. Even though some of the stuff online was misleading, the storm itself definitely happened. 

Sources:

• https://www.aa.com.tr/en/environment/sandstorms-hit-southern-israel-as-winds-intensify-central-wildfires/3553905

• https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/video-massive-sandstorm-hits-southern-israel-as-winds-intensify-jerusalem-wildfires-8302099